Brown Algae in 5 Gallon Tank

[natotorium]

Hello! I’ve been struggling with this brown type of algae in my 5 gallon betta fish tank. I’m not sure what it is or how to stop it. It’s fuzzy and stringy and grows mostly on the plants I have in the tank. I have a bubble filter as well as a light but I haven’t kept it on a lot because it’s bright and slightly causes a reflection on the side of the tank for my betta. I’m not sure what the cause of this algae is and if someone could help I’d greatly appreciate it : ) I attached two photos

 

[Autumnsky]

you might try a piece of window screen to cut out some of the light from the fixture or plastic needle point canvas. This blocks a large percent of the light.

Also how often are you doing water changes, and how much?

I would probably increase the frequency and amount to 2 times per week and 30-40%.

Another thing is Purigen or Phosguard pouch which can bind op some of the organics and phosphate.

What kind of food are you using? Some flake foods seem to have a bit of phosphates.

You can remove the tank items and use a extra soft bristle tooth brush (dollar at the dollar store) and / or a Mr. clean sponge (also 1 for $1.00) pre-moistened and a 50 /50 amount of 3% Hydrogen peroxide like found at the grocery store pharmacy, and water.

Be gentle and wipe or softly brush the leaves. You might want to remove the very bad ones.

Then I would do a quick rinse in tap water to get the sludge off and then drip a little peroxide onto the leaves and wait a minute and rinse off.

If the item is a decoration plastic, ceramic or resin you can put the peroxide on and brush it at full strength. To be safe of coloration on the decor, do a small test spot in the back of it.

I think the light is a big part of the issue. Does it have 4 numbers with a K after it anywhere on the bulb? ie. 2700K

 

[natotorium]

you might try a piece of window screen to cut out some of the light from the fixture or plastic needle point canvas. This blocks a large percent of the light.

Also how often are you doing water changes, and how much?

I would probably increase the frequency and amount to 2 times per week and 30-40%.

Another thing is Purigen or Phosguard pouch which can bind op some of the organics and phosphate.

What kind of food are you using? Some flake foods seem to have a bit of phosphates.

You can remove the tank items and use a extra soft bristle tooth brush (dollar at the dollar store) and / or a Mr. clean sponge (also 1 for $1.00) pre-moistened and a 50 /50 amount of 3% Hydrogen peroxide like found at the grocery store pharmacy, and water.

Be gentle and wipe or softly brush the leaves. You might want to remove the very bad ones.

Then I would do a quick rinse in tap water to get the sludge off and then drip a little peroxide onto the leaves and wait a minute and rinse off.

If the item is a decoration plastic, ceramic or resin you can put the peroxide on and brush it at full strength. To be safe of coloration on the decor, do a small test spot in the back of it.

I think the light is a big part of the issue. Does it have 4 numbers with a K after it anywhere on the bulb? ie. 2700K

Thank you so much for the response! I do water changes like once a week and about 25% so I will up my water changes a bit.
I just use pellets that my betta eats right away most of the time so they don’t tend to sit long at the bottom if at all.
And the light is just an led light that came with the tank. Thanks again : )